Two University of Washington Information School students are among the 60 winners of the American Library Association’s 2016-17 Spectrum Scholarships, the ALA announced Friday.

The winners include iSchool Master of Library and Information Science students Melody Leung and Erika Miller. Both were named ProQuest Scholars, with their awards funded by a gift from the Michigan-based information and technology company. Leung is finishing her first year in the iSchool's residential MLIS program, and Miller is finishing her second year of the online MLIS program.

In a press release, the ALA said it received three times as many applications as there were scholarships available. Winners were selected based on their commitment to diversity, commitment to entering the library profession, demonstrated community outreach, academic ability, and achievements and leadership potential.

Spectrum recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession. The aim is to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse professionals in the field of library and information science to best position libraries at the core of today’s culturally diverse communities.